When In Rome
by Alice Alessa
Summary: "I don't know when exactly I began to accept this life as reality. I don't know when I began to call myself Mina." Grace Robins was not happy with her life, but when she wakes up in a completely different body, how will she cope, especially when she discovers she's not only in a new life, but a new reality… Full Summary Inside. Mostly Canon. OC
1. Nightmare

**Authors Note: Advance warning, the first 2-3 chapters feature a lot of detail and very little action, in order to properly set the story. Past those, things become far more interesting – I promise. Please bear with me. Pairings are mostly canon, unless things are spiced up later on. Also: this is ****_not_**** a romance fic. Yes, there will be some romance, as it is good for the story, but it will not be filled to capacity with lovey-dovey gooey emotions. In saying that, this fic will mostly likely remain a T rating, though be forewarned that depending on where this story moves, it may stray into M territory later on…just a precautionary warning. Rating will change if this occurs. **

**All mistakes are my own – I check my works a dozen times or more, yet on occasion I do miss something.**

**All recognisable names, characters and plot are the intellectual property of Stephanie Meyer. Names, characters or plot related to any other works is purely coincidental unless otherwise stated. Stephanie Meyer owns the ****_Twilight_**** Saga. I own nothing, and make no money from this work.**

Summary:

We've all seen it before; a fangirl from the real world finds suddenly herself in the – supposedly – fictional world of Stephanie Meyer's _Twilight_, and of course, she alters the story while love blossoms between her and a certain Cullen. But what if it didn't happen that way? 26-year-old Grace Robins was not happy with her life, and things only seemed to fall apart the more she tried to repair everything. But one cold night in October, she finds herself falling asleep in her life, and waking up at the scene of an accident in a completely different one. One that is not only six years in the past, but in which Vampires, shape shifters and everything and everyone from _Twilight _is suddenly real. Of course she read the books, like any other person, and saw the first three movies. What will happen now that her name is Mina, and she finds herself in Forks, Washington mere months before Bella Swan is supposed to arrive? And what will Mina do once she does? Will she change the storyline? How will the Cullens handle a new human in town who seems to be hiding a very big secret, and who doesn't treat them like other humans do? Is her sudden presence in the _Twilight _universe a permanent situation, or will she find a way back to her old life? But most importantly, will she want to?

* * *

_Sacha Baron Cohen is a weird lemur, _I thought with a frown, raising an eyebrow slightly as I reached for the remote. When the film finished a minute later and I muted the sound, a chorus of whines sounded from the floor. I couldn't let them hear the 'I like to move it' song or they'd get worked up again.

"I said you could stay up until the end, and now it's past all of your bedtimes." I said sternly with a glance at the clock to see it was indeed getting late.

"But Gracie, I'm not tired! Please, just five more minutes?" Benjamin begged in his baby voice.

"Please, _please _Gracie?" Matthew chimed in. "We'll be really good!"

"Promise!" said Macy.

"Now you know I've let you stay up very late just to watch the rest of Madagascar, so now it's time for all of you to go to bed. Fair's fair. Come on, I'll tuck you in." I said, rising from my leather armchair. Still grumbling, the collection of six to eleven-year-olds reluctantly got up from the pillow pile they'd made on the floor earlier to head to their rooms. They'd already brushed their teeth a half hour ago, so there wasn't _that _stress to worry about now. Though they claimed they weren't tired, as children do, I could see the weariness in their eyes as sleep pulled at them. Leaving the TV on but still muted, I followed the children down the hall and turned into Macy and Sarah's room first. The six and nine year olds, respectively, were already in their beds, kicking the thick covers this way and that to get them to sit just right. When both seemed satisfied, I moved to sit on the edge of Macy's bed and smiled down at the little girl, who was clutching her dolly 'Miss Prissy' in a death grip. As I proceeded to straighten the blankets slightly and tell her to have wonderful dreams, Macy let out a big yawn and rolled onto her side, before closing her eyes with a quiet "goodnight Gracie". I gave her warm cheek a quick kiss and turned off her bedside lamp before moving to her elder sister who was waiting patiently on the other side of the room.

"Okay Sarah, time to go to sleep. You've got a big day tomorrow with your family; you'll need all your energy to keep up with your brothers and sister at the park." I whispered softly. They were all going to a theme park tomorrow, to celebrate the twin's birthday next week. Sarah nodded, having a sip of her water before snuggling down further into the bed. I tucked the blankets tighter around her, for I didn't want her to get cold and this late in October the nights really were starting to become chilly. "Goodnight dear." I whispered softly, before kissing her forehead.

"Night Grace." Sarah sighed contently, eyes closed. I smiled and switched off her lamp too, plunging the room into semi-darkness. Light from the hallway still spilled in the partially-opened door, which was enough for me to safely see my way out of the room without kicking my foot on anything. Gently closing the door, I took a breath as I squared my shoulders and headed towards the boys' room. While the girls may be fairly easy to put to bed, twins Benjamin and Matthew weren't always so cooperative.

The sight that greeted me when I stepped around the door into their bedroom had my jaw hanging wide open; Benjamin and Matthew, both already in their beds under the covers, curled up and silent. I almost thought it was some sort of trick, but as I travelled closer to inspect, I saw they were indeed drifting off. It was shocking, but not unexpected; they'd had a huge day at school today, out on an excursion. I think what most surprised me was that they'd managed to crawl under the covers first…well, mostly. Matthew's leg and arm currently hung out the side of his bed, but I quickly tucked them back under the blankets, before kissing both boys on the head and giving their shoulders a pat. I liked the twins; though they were both energetic and excitable, they had good hearts and were always polite. Their parents had taught them well.

At that thought, I quietly left the boys' and tip-toed out to the kitchen to check the time. Andrew and Jillian had said they would be home around eleven, and it was now nearly ten. Considering for a moment, I went back to the lounge room and cleared away the mess of pillows, before I unmuted the TV and turned the volume down to low. Still holding the remote, I sat back down in my still-warm armchair and curled up under a blanket, temporarily allowing myself to relax into the comfortable leather. Though my eyes were struggling to stay open, I forced myself to stay awake and focus on the television, determined not to fall asleep. I spent the next few minutes channel surfing, which was actually quite a process because the Peterson's had cable and I wasn't entirely sure how to use it properly. I'd never had much time to study the TV except to figure out how to find the kid's channel. I wasn't usually here this late and wasn't used to having this kind of free time, even though I'd been babysitting for the Peterson's for over a year now.

Eventually, I stumbled across a guide on the screen that told me _Ghost _had just started on one channel, and I smiled. I didn't mind _Ghost_, having always liked Patrick Swayze's early films. Plus, Whoopi Goldberg was hilarious. When the movie came on though, I frowned as I examined the scene. This was most definitely not _Ghost._ My confused frown turned into a scowl as I realised exactly what movie it was: _Twilight._

Perfect.

I picked up the remote again and strained to remember how I'd found the channel menu, trying to figure out where I'd gone wrong to end up with this instead of a nice dose of Swayze. Eventually though, after much examination and random button-pressing, I gave up and leant back into the seat in defeat. My eyes flickered to the screen just as Bella walked right in front of that fan in biology class.

_Well, isn't that just convenient? _I thought sardonically, before continuing to bitterly pick apart the film. I was not a fan of pathetic romances, especially given the recent developments in my own relationship.

_I wonder if anyone actually noticed when they were filming this that there's an owl behind Edward that makes it look like he has wings_.

Really, my resentment _was_ justified, unnecessary though it may seem. It wasn't just about my life either; I was getting kind of annoyed with the whole series at the moment. The fourth movie was coming out next month, so it seemed that was all anyone could talk about right now. I'd read the books a few years ago, like any other person, and was forced to endure the first three movies and a re-reading of the books with Katie, a fifteen year old girl with an Edward obsession whom I looked after once a week. Consequently, I'd had enough _Twilight _exposure to last a lifetime. Still, feeling too tired to move, I sat there for the next ten minutes in tedious boredom watching Bella and Edward's creepy relationship begin.

_Stop being ungrateful Bella. If I were in your shoes, I'd certainly appreciate being a shield. Hah, imagine if I was immune to every one of their powers, or could use them against them! Wouldn't they squirm! _That thought made me smile. Somehow I managed to become even weirder when I was sleep deprived. I had been having utterly bizarre and nonsensical dreams the last few nights that had woken me up and left me unable to get back to sleep, so I was basically running on caffeine at the moment.

It was just after Bella was nearly hit by that van that my eyes started to droop closed again, and this time I saw no reason to fight it. I drifted off to sleep to the sound of random chatter and weird bass guitar tunes, letting the calming blackness envelope me.

* * *

A loud crash, a terrible sound like tearing metal combined with screeching tires and breaking glass roused me, and I felt my body being jolted forward violently before a sharp pain erupted in my head. An indeterminable amount of time passed before I detected a high-pitched ringing noise, but I also vaguely noticed I was leaning forwards somewhat. A pressure in my chest was building and I was struggling to breathe, but I somehow still managed to get air into my lungs. Still in total blackness, I slowly registered the pain in my aching body, especially in my head, as the ringing noise receded. It was aching beyond comparison, and I sat almost completely still for several minutes just gasping for air. Once I began to feel very cold though, the cloud shrouding my mind faded slightly, though the pain and confusion only seemed to increase.

_What…what happened? Why does everything hurt so much? _I thought with a wince.

I tried to move, but it hurt in a different way, and for the first I felt a tingling stinging sensation on my palms. Slowly, with great difficulty, I managed to pry my eyes open, and the brightness nearly blinded me. For several moments, all I could see was white, and when everything began to gradually take shape around me I couldn't even draw in enough air to gasp in shock.

I was leaning forward, sitting somewhat upright in the driver's seat of a car. The seatbelt was pressed tight against my front, while my head was tilted forward slightly. A deployed airbag filled much of the space in front of my face, and I could hear a tinkling sound as I shifted lightly. When I looked down, I saw that my palms were decorated with tiny scratches and cuts that made my hands appear to be patterned randomly with red. Aside from those, I could not see any serious external injuries to my body, but my clothes, the passenger seat of the car and every other inch of the interior was covered in tiny pieces of glass; shattered pieces of the windows and windscreen, which I concluded must be what cut my palms. I focused my gaze, and saw that most of the glass from both front windows was missing, while the windscreen was cracked and gaping in one place.

_Was I in an accident?_

It was then that a drop of something falling in my eye caught my attention, and I slowly reached my fingers up to my forehead. When I felt wetness just beneath my hairline above my right eye I brought my hand back down and stared dizzily at the red liquid coating my fingers, much more of it than what was on my palms. I couldn't see out of the broken windscreen, but when I managed to move my head and neck without too much pain I tried to examine my surroundings. Rolling my head carefully, I looked skyward and saw only whiteness, an endless bank of clouds. My sight was still hazy and things blurred at the edges of my vision. Outside my window, green overcame my vision with a thick tree line consuming much of my view. I could just make out a road a little ways behind and to the left of me, but there were no other cars or vehicles on it.

A flash of memory came to me as my mind cleared fully, and I remembered the Petersons.

"Oh!" I inhaled abruptly, and the cool air sent a sharp pain through my throat.

_Where am I? What's happened? It's…day? It was ten o'clock at night! How did I get here? The children – oh, God, the children! They're all alone!_

Thoughts and confusion swirled around my brain, and I began to panic, feeling my throat close up. I couldn't think – I had to get out. My chest tightened further, if that was even possible.

Okay, calm down. I told myself, closing my eyes and trying to breathe slowly. Just calm down, get your head together. Don't panic. Just breathe.

Tranquil peace washed over me then, and I felt myself slipping down into blackness again, but it wasn't a frightening sensation. I felt light, weightless; the pain I felt all over my body dulled until I could barely detect it at all. I felt peaceful. I drifted like that for a while, but I had no idea how long exactly. There was only blackness and inconsistent moments of painful, harsh reality. It was so cold. When I began to hear erratic words and voices in those moments I shied away even more. Why wouldn't they just let me sleep? I was so tired, and this place was silent and peaceful. I vaguely felt things bumping against me, but I just wanted to rest. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to forget the pain, and it kept returning to me. Bright flashes of light permeated the darkness every once in a while then, and the voices grew louder yet more indistinct, like a constant low murmur.

"Miss?" a woman asked. The sound was clear to my ears and I found it loud and annoying. "Miss, can you hear me?"

I groaned quietly in objection to the noise, but this only seemed to encourage more voices to speak.

"I need you to stay conscious miss, stay with us. We're going to help you." A man told me, and again I groaned in protest. Why? Why did I have to stay awake? It was so much nicer in the dark; they didn't need to help me. I must have passed out again after that, because I blessedly heard no more noise and felt no more pain for a while. When it did, inevitably, return, I realised quickly that the ache in my body was considerably lessened, though my head was still splitting. Patiently, I waited as sensation slowly returned to my body, radiating out from my chest until I could move my fingers minutely. With a herculean effort I opened my eyes, and as the scene around me came into focus I saw white walls, a white ceiling and white blankets over my body. The vertical blinds on the window to my right were half-open, angled to allow a mediocre amount of natural light to flood the room.

The room was unmistakably one in a hospital, and as my other senses came into focus I could smell disinfectant and sanitiser, as well as hear the steady beeping of various machines in the small room. Though the door was closed, there was a glass window in the centre and I could vaguely make out the passing shapes of people. Despite all this observations, I felt very groggy, and couldn't make my eyes focus on anything for too long before I began dizzy and tired. I felt myself slip in and out of consciousness several times, before finally I opened my eyes again and everything seemed much clearer and less disorientating.

_What the hell is going on? Why am I in hospital? Did I dream the accident? Am I dreaming now?_ I thought after a few minutes once I remembered, beginning to panic slightly. One of the machines beside my bed must have been detecting my heartbeat, because its beeping rate suddenly increased to be in time with my frantic body's palpitations. With my rapid heartbeat, blood was pumping through my body faster and I soon had control over my arms, reaching up to press a hand to my forehead. I remembered being cut there...

Why did I still feel so dizzy?

The door to the small room opened then, and a young woman with light brown hair wearing nurses' scrubs dashed into the room, likely in answer of the machines now beeping wildly beside me. When she saw I was staring at her she froze mid-stride, her eyes going as wide as saucers.

"Oh my god, you're awake!" she cried in surprise. "I'll be right back; I've got to get a doctor!" Then she rushed out again. I heard her light footsteps fade away before they returned a minute later, accompanied by a second set of slightly heavier footsteps. When they came through the doorway, I saw she had brought a stocky older man, in his early sixties at least, with balding grey hair, wearing a long white lab coat.

"Hello." His voice was a deep baritone. "My name is Doctor Clarke. How do you feel?"

I blinked, and then gently touched my forehead again with a slight wince. "My head hurts. I'm…dizzy. Where am…what happened?"

The doctor spoke in a slow, calming voice, as though trying to reassure me. "You're at Olympic Memorial Hospital, in Port Angeles, Washington. You were in a car accident; you've been unconscious for two days now. Do you remember?"

_Washington? I've never been_ _to Washington before. _

I shook my head gently, while trying to push myself upright. The doctor and nurse helped me, using the remote control to adjust the bed so I could sit up.

"Can you tell me your name?" the doctor asked.

"I…" I struggled to think. My thoughts were blurred and my mind felt too full of conflicting flashes of memories. _Grace Robins _specifically spoke to me, but at the same time it felt wrong somehow. "I don't know."

A concerned look formed on the doctor's face.

"Milena; your name is Milena Avery. What do you remember?"

I shook my head again, taking this unfamiliar name in. Well, it wasn't completely unfamiliar; my grandmother's name had been Milena. My parents were going to name me after her, but for some reason settled on Grace instead. There must be some mistake. "I don't know…it's all so fuzzy and vague…I was babysitting and then…" I gave an exasperated sigh and tried to organise my thoughts.

"You might still find everything quite fuzzy for a little while, Milena, due to the morphine in your system." The doctor told me, frowning.

The nurse spoke then. "Your case worker is just outside – well, _ex_-case worker. She's been waiting for you to wake up, but she went to get coffee I think…"

"Case worker?" I echoed, suddenly even more confused.

"Yes…" Doctor Clarke's frown deepened. "She managed your re-homing. Perhaps she can explain a few…personal matters to you?" he seemed uncomfortable.

"Um…" I began, but the nurse had already flitted out to retrieve my 'ex-case worker'. The doctor proceeded to shine a light in my eyes and listen to my heartbeat and ask me how I was feeling, before he reached over and adjusted something on one of the machines connected to an IV in my arm. The nurse returned soon after with a short, plump woman in her forties with dark blonde hair and big blue eyes. She wore a grey suit and skirt.

"My goodness Mina, are you alright? I'm so glad you're awake! You've been unconscious for so many days…" she exclaimed, coming closer to squeeze my hand. The doctor reached out to place a hand on the woman's arm.

"I'm afraid she seems to be suffering some memory loss; I think it would be best if you spoke more quietly and calmly at this time." He said seriously.

The woman's eyes widened even more, and she nodded in understanding, releasing my hand as she sat down in a plastic chair beside the bed. The doctor and nurse left us alone. I stared at the woman as her expression softened and she smiled gently at me.

"Hello Mina. My name is Mrs Klein, but you've always called me Suzette. Do you know me?" she asked softly.

I shook my head slightly. "Why do you keep calling me that? The doctor said my name was Mil…Milena."

Suzette smiled softly down at me. "Your full name is Milena Violet Avery. You prefer to be called Mina."

"Oh." I said stupidly. I knew that wasn't my name, yet somehow it felt right to me. I couldn't find it in me to protest though; my mind was still so foggy. This can't be real. I knew this wasn't right, this person wasn't me, yet I still had a bizarre desire to know more. "Can you…can you tell me more…about me? I don't remember much, maybe it will help?"

"Of course, dear…" Suzette was clearly trying very hard to be gentle with me, speaking slowly so I would understand. "You are eighteen years old. Your birthday is December Tenth. Your parents…" she hesitated a moment, still holding eye contact, as if trying to decide whether to share this with me so soon. My mind was beginning to clear, and by the look on her face and the fact that she had apparently been my 'case worker', I could guess what happened to my 'parents'.

"They're dead, aren't they?" I asked her quietly.

Slowly, almost guiltily, she nodded, but I felt no sense of loss. They weren't my parents; _my_ parents were living their dream retirement in Florida, happy and well I assumed, though I couldn't be certain. We'd not been on good speaking terms for about four years now. Still, perhaps I should have felt something for this other girl's loss.

"Is that why I have a case wo– you?" I asked, correcting myself mid-sentence.

"Yes…well, _had_…" Suzette corrected, before looking concerned. "I'm not sure I should tell you these sorts of things so soon…"

"No, I'm alright. I need to know." I said firmly. "So…you're not my case worker anymore?"

"No dear, not since you turned eighteen." She smiled kindly, fondly even, at me. "You were trying for emancipation for a year before that, but it never worked out. The day you turned eighteen was the happiest I'd ever seen you, when I came to sort out the paperwork so you could go off on your own."

"Can you continue?" I asked lightly, my eyes pleading, I'm sure. "Please." I added for safe measure.

"Well," Suzette began hesitantly, before reaching for a yellow manila file that lay on the bedside table. "Alright; I'll tell you."

I listened intently for the next half an hour as she explained Milena Avery's history to me. The whole thing was like a briefing, really; me, sitting upright in my bed while Suzette told me everything about…well, _me_. Suzette had managed 'me' since I was ten, taking over when my previous case worker had retired, so she seemed to know 'my' whole history very well. According to her, I was born and lived in San Francisco with my parents, before they died within a year of each other when I was six years old. My father was a firefighter who was killed by a hit-and-run driver, while my mother was a curator at a small museum. She suffered a brain aneurysm ten months after my father died. My grandfather on my mother's side was an art collector and an investment banker. He was also very, very wealthy and when Suzette told me I had inherited most of my family's wealth when I turned eighteen, I really was completely certain I was dreaming. I'd never had money, ever. My family – my real family – never had much at all when I was growing up. And now I was apparently rich? What the hell? This was way too unreal to be true. I was so shocked Suzette had to shake me to get me to focus again; clearly worried I was falling unconscious or something.

As far as Suzette knew, I had no living relatives. I'd had one grandmother and an aunt when my mother died, but neither was capable of caring for me and both had since passed away. Over the last twelve years since my 'parents' had died, I'd been placed in over _twenty-five_ different foster families and group homes for orphaned children all over the country, but I'd never lasted more than a few months in each. At that, I did feel a twinge of sorrow. Though I wasn't this girl, she'd clearly had a very difficult life and I felt sad for her misfortune. Twenty-five different homes in twelve years must have been some sort of record, I mused aloud, and Suzette gave me a weak smile. Surely all that must have given her a major headache too, but she seemed to be perfectly fine with it.

"This lasted until you turned eighteen. You'd been with a family in Portland for two months, and it was going about as well as the others had, but as soon as you were legally an adult everything changed. You were so excited, and you might just have taken off straight away, but I managed to convince you to finish the week and a half of school you had left there." Suzette chuckled a little and I smiled. "Then when Christmas break came around, you got all your things together and prepared for your move to Washington." She looked up from the file and stared at me. "Is any of this sounding familiar to you?"

Familiar like a dream, yes. Familiar like my _real_ life though, no. Nowhere close. This whole history sounded like something I'd made up; I recognised, vaguely, it but it still wasn't _my_ past. This was way too much to take in – I felt so overwhelmed. What was going on, really?

"Kind of…" I answered eventually, because that really was the truth. "Am I really on my own, free?"

"Yes." Suzette assured me. "Does that sound familiar to you?"

Well, yeah. I've only been living on my own for seven years now. "A little…I'm really in Washington?"

"Yes, in Port Angeles. You were travelling to Forks, which is about an hour from here, from Portland." She explained. "That was where you were moving. From what I understand, the police believe you lost control on a patch of ice."

"Forks?" I echoed. Why did I feel that name was important? A thought nagged at my brain but I couldn't quite grasp it.

Suzette nodded. "Yes, though you never quite said why you were going there. Whenever anyone asked, you just said it was somewhere you had to be. It's a nice little town; though being so far North-West, it's under an almost constant cover of clouds and rain."

_Clouds and rain_, I wondered, and then the memory came to me; Twilight on the television, Bella nearly getting hit by that van, _Forks_… Oh my god, I really _am _just dreaming! I must have fallen asleep watching that stupid movie and dreamed that _I _was in an accident. Instantly, I felt a surge of relief that all this was only some long, strangely complex nightmare.

_No wonder Mina Avery's history seemed familiar to me – I made it up! Hah! _I thought triumphantly, before frowning slightly. Vaguely, I recalled reading somewhere that you weren't supposed to know you were dreaming when you were. I shook that thought away and focused on waiting for the moment I would wake up. Clearly, pinching myself wasn't going to work – the 'pain' I'd felt earlier was a testament that _that _solution wasn't going to apply here. Immersed in my own thoughts, I hardly noticed that Suzette was still talking until she said my name.

"…and you're enrolled to start school next week, at Forks High School, but I'm not sure if you'll be able to manage that…" she trailed off.

"What did the doctor say? How badly am I injured? I really don't feel that bad." I prompted, mostly for show since I was bound to wake up soon, and Suzette rose from her chair and moved towards the door.

"He didn't say very much, though perhaps he will explain more now that you're awake. If you really want to know, I'll go and find him now and see if he can come back to explain." She offered, and I nodded my agreement. I was interested to see how far this dream would go.

When Suzette returned with the doctor he explained that I was very lucky to not have any major injuries, though my body had some mild bruising and there were minor cuts to my hands. I glanced down and looked at the cuts, which were already scabbed over and healing. Doctor Clarke continued to say my only real problem was a slightly deeper cut on my forehead, which had them concerned about how hard I had hit my head during the crash. The amnesia I was suffering was not promising either, but physically he said I was fine. By this point I was quite impressed with my ability to create such a realistic story in my unconscious mind, and was only half listening to what the doctor was saying.

"So I'll be okay?" I asked with a yawn. I felt tired. Maybe if I went to sleep in this dream, I would wake up in reality again? Yes, I'm sure that would work.

"Yes." Doctor Clarke clarified. "We'd like to examine you further for any more injuries to your head, but we believe you will make a full recovery."

"What about her memories? Will they come back?" Suzette asked.

"That, I cannot answer for sure. Only time will tell. In cases like this, sometimes all of a person's memories return within a few days, and other times the person never regains their memory again. However, most of these people still go on to live very fulfilling lives." The doctor said.

"Will she still be able to start school next week, Doctor?" Suzette asked, and I closed my eyes.

"It will all depend on the results of the tests. Come now, let her sleep. She had been through quiet a lot these last few days." The doctor said quietly.

Just before I drifted to sleep, I sighed gently, satisfied in the knowledge I would wake up in my own – slightly less dramatic and confusing – life once more_._

It never occurred to me that I wouldn't.

**A/N: Let me know what you think! Chapter two should be up early next week sometime.**


	2. Awakening

**Firstly, thank you so much to TriforceandSheikahArts, Ghostwriter71 and That's So Ravy for your reviews. I really enjoyed hearing your perspective. Yes, I'm aware this is a concept that's been done a few times over but I've read a few and have never quite found what I was looking for. Actually, I started writing the idea for this story about three years ago in high school when I first read ****_Twilight_**** and only recently found the document on my old hard drive. I've got some ideas for it now, though *wink wink*.**

**Also, my apologises for any confusion, this is not an OC/Bella pairing, in fact I'm not quite sure how Bella snuck into there, but regardless the way I've planned it so far is that she does feature a bit later on so I might leave her as a main until I can figure it all out a big more.**

**All recognisable names, characters and plot are the intellectual property of Stephanie Meyer. Names, characters or plot related to any other works is purely coincidental unless otherwise stated. Stephanie Meyer owns the ****_Twilight_**** Saga. I own nothing, and make no money from this work.**

* * *

When awareness returned to me, I felt some mild confusion, as is usual when you first awaken. My mind cleared after a moment though and I remembered the strange dream I'd had, relaxing when I realised it was over. I tensed my body and stretched, then frowned when I felt I was covered by some sort of sheet. I was also mostly horizontal, which I found odd. Where was the leather armchair?

A steady beeping reached my ears as they began to register sound, and I finally managed to crack my eyes open. I blinked a few times to clear my vision, and then lifted my head to examine where I was. I looked down to see I was still in a bed similar to the one I'd been in in my dream, and I could definitely smell something floral. Though the room was darkened, artificial light streamed in through a clear glass window in the door to the left of my bed, dimly lighting the room. Bags of unknown substances were attached to an IV inserted into my wrist, and my arm was freezing. Whatever they were pumping me with was cold. Both of my hands were lightly bandaged, and I could feel a tighter bandage around my head. I touched it to prove it to myself, and felt the thick patch just above my eye. Looking to my right, I noticed the vertical blinds on the large window were closed completely, but no light shone through the gaps at the top or the bottom and I concluded it must be night.

_What the hell is going on? Why am I still in this hospital, I should be awake by now!_ I tried to sit up, but my body ached in protest so I had to move slower. I still hurt a whole hell of a lot, but I definitely felt far less groggy than I had been in the dream – it was just a dream, wasn't it?

Eventually, when I managed to prop myself up with a hand behind my back, I looked around the room and behind me. I saw my name – her name, _Milena Avery _– written on the board above the bed, along with my – her – age and condition. A chart hung beside it, but I couldn't reach it. A tall, rectangular set of drawers on wheels was on one side of my bed, with a big bunch of flowers on top. That explained the smell. On my other side sat an empty plastic chair, the same one Suzette had sat in earlier…

_No! She can't have, she's not real! None of this is real! It can't be real… _I was ruled by logic, and nothing about this was logical. It wasn't possible.

"I've got to figure out what's going on." I said aloud, and my voice was harsh and croaky. God, I felt like I was dying of thirst. I pulled back the sheets to reveal my bare legs, and pulled my hospital nightgown down further to cover myself. With great care, I managed to shift myself to the side of the bed and tentatively lowered my feet to the floor, wincing when my toes touched the cold linoleum. When I went to take a step I had to catch myself; my legs felt very weak, and it took a moment for me to gain my balance and stop my head from spinning. Supported by the rollable pole my IV tube was attached to, I awkwardly made my way to the drawers to find some other clothes; as it was, I was using my free hand to hold the slit in the side of my nightgown closed. When I saw they were empty, I swore and tried to come up with another plan. Gingerly, I made my way to the door and eased it open, sticking my head out into the hall. When I glanced around and saw no one, I cautiously stepped out and began making my way along the hall. It wasn't a fast process, as the pole I was wheeling with me did not move very easily, but it was at least quiet. When I came to a 'T' junction at the end of the hallway, I glanced left then right, unsure which way I should go. Where was I even _trying _to go? When I saw the restroom symbol to my right though, my decision was made and I quickly headed to that door. Some issues were more pressing than finding answers.

After that was done, I continued down the hallway but just when an elevator came into view I passed a nurses' station and froze, just as the older woman there looked up when she noticed my movement. She wore navy scrubs with a dark long-sleeved shirt underneath, and her short blonde hair hung around her wrinkled oval face, which curved into a concerned smile when she saw me.

"Oh, hello. Are you alright?" she asked kindly.

"Uh…I-I'm not sure what's…happening. I had to u-use the bathroom and now I c-can't seem to…" I stammered, flustered for an excuse.

"Can't find your room again?" the nurse supplied helpfully, and I nodded dumbly as she came up to take my arm. "That's perfectly alright honey; I used to get turned around in this place all the time. I'll show you, what's your name? I've only just started a half-hour ago and haven't caught up with everything yet."

"Um, Milena Avery…I was…in a car crash." I said quietly, and the nurse inhaled sharply.

"Oh, that was you? Oh sweetie, you really shouldn't have tried to get out of bed, but I suppose no one told you that. Here, come with me, your room is this way." She began leading me back the way I had come, and I let her.

"Where did the woman go, the one…" I closed my eyes, struggling to concentrate. "My case worker, Suzette, where did she go?"

"She wasn't here when I started; perhaps she went to get some sleep?" she offered. The nurse genuinely looked sorry she couldn't be of any help.

I asked then, "Please, what's going on? I-I don't understand. How did I get here?"

She glanced down at me in a worried manner as we rounded another corner. "An ambulance brought you in, and you were treated for your injuries in the ER before being brought up here; at least, that's what I heard." She said. "No one knows how long you were out there for, but thankfully it can't have been too long or you likely would have developed Hypothermia with this weather."

We reached my room again and I allowed the nurse to help me back into my bed. I wanted someone to explain – _needed _someone to explain. Explain everything. What Suzette had said before wasn't enough – that was just this girls' past, a _dream_! How was this even still _happening_? It couldn't be…no, it couldn't possibly be _real_…could it? I felt so confused. I hadn't stopped feeling confused yet.

"Just try to get back to sleep, it's very late – almost two actually." The nurse said. "I don't know very much about your accident, but I'm sure someone will be in to talk to you tomorrow. Is that alright?" she asked. Not seeing there was really any choice in the matter; I nodded and lay back on the bed, careful of the IV still in my wrist. When the nurse saw that, she looked apologetic.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. They couldn't put one in your hand because of the bandages." She said, before covering me with a blanket. "Are you warm enough? I can get you another warm blanket? Do you need anything else, honey?"

I asked for some water, and the nurse brought me a bottle. She poured some into a little plastic cup and helped me drink it. It tasted like heaven on my parched throat.

"Thank you…for helping me." I whispered. She smiled at me, and then left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

I lay there for a long time before I truly began to feel very worried, more so than the half-hearted concern I'd held earlier. Now, I was scared.

* * *

**A/N: Apology**

**29/08/14**

**I am so sorry.**

**I know this chapter is several days later than when I promised it would be up, and it's also really short, but my plan was to post this chapter and then the next the day after – I just couldn't seem to find a place to fit this chapter. Originally I was just going to delete it, because a lot of it is repetitive and merely drags out chapter one, but when I read the whole section – chapters one to three – I felt it just needed ****_something_**** in the middle, and so, viola.**

**The other thing I am incredibly sorry about is that after this chapter I am going to be on hiatus for a while. I know, I've only just begun and it's a terribly substandard thing to do to the few people who are actually interested in this story, but quite literally a few hours after I first published this I was involved in a serious accident. It was kind of ironic actually. I've only just been able to get access to a computer – I have my sister Selene to thank for being able to post anything at all, but I thought you deserved some notice. Even though it was by no action of mine that this happened, I still feel incredibly guilty about a lot of things right now, including my abandonment of FF so soon after I begin publishing. Again, I apologise, but there is really nothing I can do about it at this time. As it is, I can barely type - Selene is helping right now. Once my life returns to normal I fully intend to have a much more consistent schedule for this and my other future stories, but it will likely be a month or more before I'm completely able to commit to my writing again. Even then I will have a lot on my mind, but like the terminator I'LL BE BACK – except, you know, without all the killing… Anyway, I think that's about enough excuses. I hope you don't all hate me.**

**Again, I am so, so sorry for being such an unreliable jerkface.**

** – ****Alice**


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